Nat Gonella

Nat Gonella
Entertainment at Laxey Station
Background information
Birth name	Nathaniel Charles Gonella
Born	7 March 1908 Islington, London, England
Died	6 August 1998 (aged 90) Gosport, Hampshire, England
Genres	Dixieland, British dance band
Occupation(s)	Bandleader singer Trumpeter Mellophonist
Instruments	Trumpet Mellophone
Associated acts	Humphrey Lyttelton Digby Fairweather Nat Gonella & His Georgians

Nathaniel Charles (Nat) Gonella (7 March 1908 – 6 August 1998) was an English jazz trumpeter, bandleader, vocalist and mellophonist born in London, perhaps most notable for his work with the big band he founded, The Georgians, during the British dance band era.

His vocal style was reminiscent of Louis Armstrong, though the voice was often eclipsed by his achievements as a band leader and trumpeter. Gonella has been a major influence on other British jazz trumpeters, including Humphrey Lyttelton and Digby Fairweather.

Gonella was born in Islington, North London where he attended St Mary's Guardian School, an institution for underprivileged children. Here, he took up playing the cornet.

His first professional job arrived when, after a short spell as a furrier's apprentice, he joined Archie Pitt's Busby Boy's Band in 1924, a small junior pit orchestra and touring review band. He remained with the band until 1928, and it was during this period that he became acquainted with the early recordings of Louis Armstrong, and the New Orleans jazz style in general. He transcribed Armstrong's solos and learned them by heart.

He worked with Bob Bryden's Louisville Band for a time in 1928-9, and with pianist Archie Alexander in Brighton, then joined the Billy Cotton band at the end of 1929, a move which provided him with a more prominent platform, both on the concert stage and also on radio, and allowed him to record his first jazz solos and vocal features (which included scat singing).

He played briefly with Roy Fox in 1931, and then stayed in that band when Lew Stone, Fox's former pianist, took over leadership the following year. It was with Stone's band that he firmly established his reputation.